The other time I got home, my mum called me wanting to know if I had heard the news of the demolition carried out by the Tema Development Corporation at Adjei Kojo. Her countenance suggested she was shocked by the incident which wiped out people’s life-time investments in a flash.
Before she could follow up with another
question, I retorted, “But these people, do they learn at all?” My mother felt
I was being heartless and insensitive to the plight of the victims, whose homes
lay rubble.
Upon second thought, I felt government
could have come to a compromise on this particular matter because it was also
complicit in the whole issue. Certainly, the 150 houses demolished did not just
sprout like mushrooms overnight. It was a gradual process and someone,who is paid
with taxpayers’ money, sat down and watched unconcerned. Was it because he knew
he would be having the last laugh?
The last time it was the demolition at
Adentan which made the news. The sad incident led to the death of a young man,
who was shot dead by the police for allegedly attacking a policeman. While I
don’t embrace impunity, I think sometimes law enforcers, per their actions and
inactions, contribute to the lawlessness in our society.
Somewhere near the Accra Shopping Mall, a “mini
mall” is springing up: food vendors have swarmed the surroundings. The number
of these vendors is increasing by the day. As usual no one is taking action. It
will be relatively easier for authorities if the situation is curbed now, but
no.
Apart from the gross incompetence of
officialdom, there is also the lack of political will to arrest some of these
developments. In this country, we do all the decongestion of our streets and markets
always after elections. In election years, the enforcement is relaxed and these
squatters return and we are back to square one.
Old Fadama, popularly called Sodom and
Gomorrah, has become a blot on Accra’s image. There again it’s our inability to
act in a timely manner that has left us where we are. By far it has become one
of the biggest slums not only in Ghana but in the sub-region.
And typical of slums, it is home to some of
the deadliest criminals in Accra. It is also prone to fire outbreaks as most of
the dwellings there have no regard for proper electrical wiring. The absence of
proper access roads means that fire outbreaks causemuch damage before help arrives--
even if it does come at all.
It will take a government with unbridled
audacity to even moot the idea of relocating the Old Fadamatownship. To most
politicians that idea alone is tantamount to mortgaging their party’s future.
No wonder it’s a “no-no” for now despite the fact that their presence is
creating a nuisance and has already led to the abandonment of the multi-million
dollar Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project.
Granted the residents of the recently
demolished AdjeiKojo community were squatters, as the Minister for Lands and
Natural Resources,InusahFuseini, would have us believe, does that justify the
treatment meted out to them?
While some may support the demolition
exercise,I certainly cannot overlook the trauma that the victims went through. Imagine
having come from work to meet your house and everything within it razed down by
bulldozers. It would still be tough news to digest even if you had received an eviction
notice.
Immediately after the demolition exercise,
the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) moved in to offer
temporary shelter to the affected persons. Like seriously?If the TDC was
hell-bent on reclaiming property that rightfully belonged to them,shouldn’t
they have consulted NADMO in their planning process?
For me it’s a disgrace to
ruin people’shomes and leave them to sleep under tents in the same place where
they once had decent shelter.
Now we’re being told the relief items are
not even enough for them. I mean how on earth? Utility prices have shot up, so
have transport and many other necessities; yet we continue to put people
through such needless traumas…shouldn’t we be sensitive at least?
Even if they had to evict these so-called squatters,
shouldn’t they have allowed them to collect their valuables before pulling down
the houses?
It’s not only the squatters that must
suffer: those who allegedly sold the lands to them must also be punished. If we
want to discourage impunity, we must carry it out to the letter. Those who sold
the lands must also be brought to face the law. They can’t be walking the
streets as freemen having duped people of their fortunes.
Those whose duty it was to ensure that the demolished
properties were not built in the first place, but watched unconcerned and
allowed the situation to degenerate must also be held accountable. What are
they being paid for?
We must sit up as a country. If we want to
be serious as a country then let’s exhibit it in all spheres. We can’t only be
seen as enforcing the law when it suits some crop of people.
Nevertheless, it is a hard lesson for all
those seeking to acquire properties. Let’s be careful we don’t fall victim to
such misfortunes.
I’m out.
Published 31 January 2014
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